6 weeks later

Not that I'm counting or anything. And it's not for lack of something to say; maybe TOO much, really. So, when in doubt, fall back on what you know: in my case, that would be food.

We're trying to change the way we buy, cook and eat, so that there's less waste, better choices, not defaulting to eating out just because we didn't get it together to start something before it's late and the kid needs to eat. Also maybe eat less, but not a god-forsaken diet. Quick, stop me before I start to foam at the mouth about the diet indusdflsdkf;a {crash, bang, silence.}

{Deep breath}
Where were we? Ah yes, cooking and eating. As part of the changes, we're trying to get dinner on the table by 6 so that we're done before 7. That way, we're not trying to get YD into bed at 8 with a shovel or a bat. So, tonight I got it together enough to have 4 chicken thighs thawed by 5pm and started rooting around in the fridge for the rest of dinner. Hmm, science projects. After arm wrestling some dying cauliflower, I found a few things that were at least marginally edible. We ended up having chicken in chinese sticky sauce, caesar salad for DW and me, broccoli for YD and some pasta. Not bad for 50 minutes. I liked the chicken well enough to write down what I did, and for a wonder the caesar wasn't too sharp, but still mouth filling. Here's the recipe:

Sticky Chicky

4 chicken thighs, bone in, skin optional
3 T hoisin sauce
3 T Pepper Jelly (mild or spicy, your taste)
1 t powdered ginger
1 t garlic powder
2 t dried lemon peel
2 T cider vinegar (or just enough to thin a little)

Oven to 350˚
Cover a small baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray or a little plain oil (I use a toaster oven for this dish. For all small chicken dishes, really.) Put chicken on tray skin side up, then put in oven for 10 minutes to start cooking. Meanwhile, mix other ingredients in small bowl or measuring cup. After 10 minutes, flip chicken and brush the glaze on thickly. Repeat in 5 minutes, then after 5 more (20 total: pay attention!), flip over and brush on skin side. Wait 5 minutes and brush on glaze one last time. Cook 5-10 minutes, or until you just can't wait any longer. The dripping glaze will have congealed on the foil and become dark on the chicken when it's done. We serve 3 with this.

OK? Now, since you've been nice enough to read this far, I won't bore you with expositions on whether anchovies belong in caesar salads (they do) or about coddling eggs (your choice, I don't bother.)

A couple of notes: Soon we will have my herb garden and I will NEVER run out of fresh ginger again! In the meantime, powdered is a barely acceptable substitute. And I had only enough garlic for either the caesar or the chicken. The caesar won.

Now go eat!